Today is my last day in Zenica.
I will miss the people here greatly. It has been an amazing experience to share Gods love to all my friends. My prayer will be that they will be able to investigate what they believe in. Many of the people that I have met, I will remember for the rest of my life. They have taught me about friendships and an appreciation for sitting down for coffee just to get to know each other.
We tie dyed this week with some girls. One of the girls tie dyed her scarf that she wears to cover her hair. What an experience! She trusted us enough to take off her scarf. All the girls had a good time, and I was so happy that I was able to share one of my favorite hobbies with them.
Tomorrow, I will be in Sarajevo for a day. Then we will go to camp with some of our students. During the camp, we will share more of God´s love, the word and just have fun by the lake.
I dont know if I will have internet access for the next two weeks since I will be in Croatia after camp. Hopefully I will find an internet cafe in Croatia!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Fun Cultural Notes
-The toilet paper smells fresh, like flowers
-I have had the best cappuccino here
-There are more bees then I have ever seen. They are everywhere!
-Wet hair outside will send you to the hospital
-The breeze will give you a headache
-The best tasting veggies are the ugliest ones since they are all organic
-You should never mix foods on a plate yet alone salty with sweet
-Always carry toilet paper with you into the public bathroom because you will regret it if you dont
-Walking barefoot is bad luck
-Once you have made a pita, that means you are ready to get married
-I have had the best cappuccino here
-There are more bees then I have ever seen. They are everywhere!
-Wet hair outside will send you to the hospital
-The breeze will give you a headache
-The best tasting veggies are the ugliest ones since they are all organic
-You should never mix foods on a plate yet alone salty with sweet
-Always carry toilet paper with you into the public bathroom because you will regret it if you dont
-Walking barefoot is bad luck
-Once you have made a pita, that means you are ready to get married
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Brief history of Bosnia. . . .
First i will start with yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was under communist rule under Tito. Bosnia was one of the "states" of Yugoslavia. Under Tito´s leadership Yugoslavia was at peace because he did not give power to the individual states, each region was equal.
However, when Tito died, peace ended. Each region tried to give themselves more power, especially Serbia. At one point, Serbia was overshadowing the rest of Yugoslavia. The leader of Serbia made political decisions that angered Croatia. This fight and pull for power was the basis of the war that occured in the early 90s.
Both Serbia and Croatia has thier own ethnic identity that is seperate from one another.
The basis of the war was the struggle over Bosnia. Bosnia is uniquely occuppied by Serbs, Croats and Muslims. Serbia wanted to take the part of Bosnia that was occupied by Serbs and Croatia wanted to do the same for the area occupied by Croats. However, the leader of Bosnia at the time was a Muslm and did not want to creat seperation within his country even more.
This caused chaos within the country. Although there are parts of Bosnia that is mostly occupied by one ethnic group, there are still minorities. The Muslim minorities was the ethnic cleansing and genociod by the Serbs.
Even today, each of the ethnic groups face prejudice from one another. Many of the students that I talk to try to tolerate each ethinic group, not by trying to reslove it, but just being able to stand each other. Many of the pains and scars are caused by feelings the people had for each other 15 years ago.
This is what I understand of the history and the people as an outsider. Hopefully its accurate. Its very difficult to simplify the complex history of Bosnia, but I hope that I gave it justice.
However, when Tito died, peace ended. Each region tried to give themselves more power, especially Serbia. At one point, Serbia was overshadowing the rest of Yugoslavia. The leader of Serbia made political decisions that angered Croatia. This fight and pull for power was the basis of the war that occured in the early 90s.
Both Serbia and Croatia has thier own ethnic identity that is seperate from one another.
The basis of the war was the struggle over Bosnia. Bosnia is uniquely occuppied by Serbs, Croats and Muslims. Serbia wanted to take the part of Bosnia that was occupied by Serbs and Croatia wanted to do the same for the area occupied by Croats. However, the leader of Bosnia at the time was a Muslm and did not want to creat seperation within his country even more.
This caused chaos within the country. Although there are parts of Bosnia that is mostly occupied by one ethnic group, there are still minorities. The Muslim minorities was the ethnic cleansing and genociod by the Serbs.
Even today, each of the ethnic groups face prejudice from one another. Many of the students that I talk to try to tolerate each ethinic group, not by trying to reslove it, but just being able to stand each other. Many of the pains and scars are caused by feelings the people had for each other 15 years ago.
This is what I understand of the history and the people as an outsider. Hopefully its accurate. Its very difficult to simplify the complex history of Bosnia, but I hope that I gave it justice.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
week two of english classes
sorry i havent had the chance to really update.
its a bit difficult to get to the internet cafe long enough to update the blog.
this week we have mainly been focusing on our english classes. i have been hanging out with all my students. all of them are so amazing.
this week i was able to visit a mosque with one of my muslim friends. it was a really great opportunity to learn about their culture and their religion since the majority of them are muslim. we both talked about what we both beleived in, and it was a very good conversation. i learned a lot about the muslim faith, and she was able to understand a lot about the christian faith.
we also played baseball with our students the other night. they have never played before so it was a great for us to be able to share a bit about american culture. suprisingly enough, the bosnians were very talented! some were better then the americans!!
God is doing great things in Zenica. We have been able to create great friendships that i am very thankful for. what a great experience to hear about other peoples lives.
being in bosnia has definitely taught me to appreciate my life, and think of how blessed i am.
i miss everyone back home!
its a bit difficult to get to the internet cafe long enough to update the blog.
this week we have mainly been focusing on our english classes. i have been hanging out with all my students. all of them are so amazing.
this week i was able to visit a mosque with one of my muslim friends. it was a really great opportunity to learn about their culture and their religion since the majority of them are muslim. we both talked about what we both beleived in, and it was a very good conversation. i learned a lot about the muslim faith, and she was able to understand a lot about the christian faith.
we also played baseball with our students the other night. they have never played before so it was a great for us to be able to share a bit about american culture. suprisingly enough, the bosnians were very talented! some were better then the americans!!
God is doing great things in Zenica. We have been able to create great friendships that i am very thankful for. what a great experience to hear about other peoples lives.
being in bosnia has definitely taught me to appreciate my life, and think of how blessed i am.
i miss everyone back home!
Friday, July 10, 2009
first week of english class
hello friends,
this has been a fun and exciting week. weve had our first week of english classes. its amazing how good everyones English is. a majority of them can hold long conversations. (which is more then many americans)
its been such a great experience to get to know them and understand Bosnian culture. they all really take value in getting to know one another over coffee. its one of my favorite parts of the day.
yesturday, we went to a refugee camp to hand out food with a Nina, a women who works with an organization that gives families grocerys once a month.
during the war, Holland made refugee camps throughout Bosnia for temporay housing, but even 15 years later thez are still being used. one of the main reasons is because the Bosnian economy is bad. its very hard to get a job here because the taxs on businesses are incredible and its almost not profitable. since there arent many businesses, there arent any jobs.
i met one particular family. it was a 27 yr old girl with three children. her husband left her after her kids were born. she recieves approximately $80 a month from the government for her children, but that isnt nearly enough. it just broke my hear to see them. i think a lot of it had to do with the fact that shes 27 yrs old and that i know that the cycle will be repeated and there is nothing we can do about it. her two daughters will probably have a bad self image, get involved in a bad relationship in the future and get left. its so sad.
even 15 years after the war, scars from the war are still with the people. being bosnia, you cant tell that there was a war. but listening to the stories of the locals, you can tell that they are still struggling with it. whether its their family situation, or the corrupt education system or the finacially unstable families the Bosnians still carry the burdens of the war.
this has been a fun and exciting week. weve had our first week of english classes. its amazing how good everyones English is. a majority of them can hold long conversations. (which is more then many americans)
its been such a great experience to get to know them and understand Bosnian culture. they all really take value in getting to know one another over coffee. its one of my favorite parts of the day.
yesturday, we went to a refugee camp to hand out food with a Nina, a women who works with an organization that gives families grocerys once a month.
during the war, Holland made refugee camps throughout Bosnia for temporay housing, but even 15 years later thez are still being used. one of the main reasons is because the Bosnian economy is bad. its very hard to get a job here because the taxs on businesses are incredible and its almost not profitable. since there arent many businesses, there arent any jobs.
i met one particular family. it was a 27 yr old girl with three children. her husband left her after her kids were born. she recieves approximately $80 a month from the government for her children, but that isnt nearly enough. it just broke my hear to see them. i think a lot of it had to do with the fact that shes 27 yrs old and that i know that the cycle will be repeated and there is nothing we can do about it. her two daughters will probably have a bad self image, get involved in a bad relationship in the future and get left. its so sad.
even 15 years after the war, scars from the war are still with the people. being bosnia, you cant tell that there was a war. but listening to the stories of the locals, you can tell that they are still struggling with it. whether its their family situation, or the corrupt education system or the finacially unstable families the Bosnians still carry the burdens of the war.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
zdravo from Bosnia!
Bosnia had been so exciting the past couple of days.
Our travel day was very uneventful. We all got our stuff and made it safely. Leaving people I love and care about is defintely the hardest part about leaving.
Our apartment is is very cute and comfortable. We live in a dorm style apartment next to the university. The second floor is where the girls live. It has a furnished living area, kitchen, bathroom, and 2 bedrooms. The boys have just 2 rooms upstairs with a very small kitchen and bathroom in their room. The rooms aren,t connected so we all hang out in our living area.
So let,s do a recap on the last couple of days:
DAY 1
We got a tour of the city by a couple of students. They were very nice and hospitible. I was very suprised because Zenica is not the city I imagined it. It,s a lot more busier then i anticipated. European drivers are crazy. They drive fast on small cars and park on the sidewalk.
There is the Bosna River that runs through the city, except it,s pretty dirty because of the pollution. People here take pride in their coffee and love to sit and have coffee or as they call it, kafa.
DAY 2
We went jogging in the morning. We definitely got funny looks since locals here don,t normally go running. It probably doesn,t help that none of us look Bosnian except for our staff worker. The rest of the day we just settled down and relaxed. =)
JULY 4
Independence day is one of my favorite holidays. There,s nothing better then a hot vegas summer day with fireworks, so i was definitely bummed out that i wouldn,t be home.
However, we had such an amazing day! We went to Banja Luka (banya luka). We drove through Bosnia. We stopped by Travnik for kafa bz a beautiful stream. It was very unusual because my kafa came on a platter with a box of matches, a cigarette and turkish delight. After that, we then drove through the very green countryside of Bosnia. It was insanely green, naturally, which is very foreign to a girl that grew up in Las Vegas most of her life!
When we got to Banja Luka, we went to cevapi (che va pee) and one of the lady,s that we met up with put american flag toothpicks to the waiter to put in our cevapi. It made me so happy! It was so thoughtful. We then went on a tour of the city. On our tour we went to a fortess that was built in the Turkish Empire. They had a stew competition and because we are so noticiably american, they wanted us to try their stew and take pictures of us eating it. It was so much fun! WE then continued on by going to another cafe by the river. Banja Luka is known for the beautiful blue river, Vrbas River. It,s very clear and it flows super fast. Along the way we p icked some Mullberries and ate it! =)
We met two girls my age that gave us a tour. She was very nice. One of my favorite parts of this trip is being able to meet people with amazing stories. After walking for some more, we went to another cafe by the river. I can definitely get used to this lifestyle! =)
Tomorrow, we,re starting our engleski classes! So we have some fun times to look forward to.
I,m eventually going to post some pictures and post a blog on the history of Bosnia because that is a very huge part of the local,s lives. It impacts the way they live and how they preceive others.
Till next time
Our travel day was very uneventful. We all got our stuff and made it safely. Leaving people I love and care about is defintely the hardest part about leaving.
Our apartment is is very cute and comfortable. We live in a dorm style apartment next to the university. The second floor is where the girls live. It has a furnished living area, kitchen, bathroom, and 2 bedrooms. The boys have just 2 rooms upstairs with a very small kitchen and bathroom in their room. The rooms aren,t connected so we all hang out in our living area.
So let,s do a recap on the last couple of days:
DAY 1
We got a tour of the city by a couple of students. They were very nice and hospitible. I was very suprised because Zenica is not the city I imagined it. It,s a lot more busier then i anticipated. European drivers are crazy. They drive fast on small cars and park on the sidewalk.
There is the Bosna River that runs through the city, except it,s pretty dirty because of the pollution. People here take pride in their coffee and love to sit and have coffee or as they call it, kafa.
DAY 2
We went jogging in the morning. We definitely got funny looks since locals here don,t normally go running. It probably doesn,t help that none of us look Bosnian except for our staff worker. The rest of the day we just settled down and relaxed. =)
JULY 4
Independence day is one of my favorite holidays. There,s nothing better then a hot vegas summer day with fireworks, so i was definitely bummed out that i wouldn,t be home.
However, we had such an amazing day! We went to Banja Luka (banya luka). We drove through Bosnia. We stopped by Travnik for kafa bz a beautiful stream. It was very unusual because my kafa came on a platter with a box of matches, a cigarette and turkish delight. After that, we then drove through the very green countryside of Bosnia. It was insanely green, naturally, which is very foreign to a girl that grew up in Las Vegas most of her life!
When we got to Banja Luka, we went to cevapi (che va pee) and one of the lady,s that we met up with put american flag toothpicks to the waiter to put in our cevapi. It made me so happy! It was so thoughtful. We then went on a tour of the city. On our tour we went to a fortess that was built in the Turkish Empire. They had a stew competition and because we are so noticiably american, they wanted us to try their stew and take pictures of us eating it. It was so much fun! WE then continued on by going to another cafe by the river. Banja Luka is known for the beautiful blue river, Vrbas River. It,s very clear and it flows super fast. Along the way we p icked some Mullberries and ate it! =)
We met two girls my age that gave us a tour. She was very nice. One of my favorite parts of this trip is being able to meet people with amazing stories. After walking for some more, we went to another cafe by the river. I can definitely get used to this lifestyle! =)
Tomorrow, we,re starting our engleski classes! So we have some fun times to look forward to.
I,m eventually going to post some pictures and post a blog on the history of Bosnia because that is a very huge part of the local,s lives. It impacts the way they live and how they preceive others.
Till next time
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Santa Barabara
hello!
After my third day of training, I'm definitely getting excited for Bosnia. I've spent a bunch of time with my team, and I'm excited that I will be spending the next six weeks with them. It's a great group of people.
I learned about the history of the Bosnian War. It's devastating to hear how many people have lost their lives and it's such a fresh wound for the people still. It'll be very intriguing and interesting to hear the stories of the people.
I've also been hanging out by the beach and Santa Barbara. It's such a beautiful city!
I am super excited to announce that I am fully funded! =]
However, the rest of my team is not, and I would love to see them funded!
I'm leaving in two days. Getting excited! I just want to be in BOSNIA alreadyy
After my third day of training, I'm definitely getting excited for Bosnia. I've spent a bunch of time with my team, and I'm excited that I will be spending the next six weeks with them. It's a great group of people.
I learned about the history of the Bosnian War. It's devastating to hear how many people have lost their lives and it's such a fresh wound for the people still. It'll be very intriguing and interesting to hear the stories of the people.
I've also been hanging out by the beach and Santa Barbara. It's such a beautiful city!
I am super excited to announce that I am fully funded! =]
However, the rest of my team is not, and I would love to see them funded!
I'm leaving in two days. Getting excited! I just want to be in BOSNIA alreadyy
Friday, June 26, 2009
detour
We originally planned to take the greyhound bus to get to Santa Barbara. This was definitely an option we didn't want to take, but it seemed to like the easiest option.
Little did we know, greyhounds are NOT convenient. We left the house at 5am for our 6:45 departure. After standing in line for an hour and a half with smelly people offering us weed, we were about to get on the bus.
There's five of us in our group. Four of us got in, but there wasn't any room for the fifth person. We weren't about to leave ANYONE behind and so we would have had to take the next one which would leave at 9am. With a transfer in LA [again, our seat isn't guaranteed so we wouldn't even be sure if we could get on the first available one] we would probably get to Santa Barbara around 9-ish. Funny enough, it would take us long to get from Vegas to SB then LAX to Germany.
So pretty much, after thinking everything through, we decided to take Ben's car to drive to Santa Barbara.
Right now, I'm at the kitchen table, enjoying a wonderful bowl of honey nut cheerios waiting for the boys to fit all the luggage in Ben's trunk.
I've been up for four hours and we have not progressed in our journey. In all honesty, if we were supposed to get on the bus, we would have. It just wasn't meant to be.
Little did we know, greyhounds are NOT convenient. We left the house at 5am for our 6:45 departure. After standing in line for an hour and a half with smelly people offering us weed, we were about to get on the bus.
There's five of us in our group. Four of us got in, but there wasn't any room for the fifth person. We weren't about to leave ANYONE behind and so we would have had to take the next one which would leave at 9am. With a transfer in LA [again, our seat isn't guaranteed so we wouldn't even be sure if we could get on the first available one] we would probably get to Santa Barbara around 9-ish. Funny enough, it would take us long to get from Vegas to SB then LAX to Germany.
So pretty much, after thinking everything through, we decided to take Ben's car to drive to Santa Barbara.
Right now, I'm at the kitchen table, enjoying a wonderful bowl of honey nut cheerios waiting for the boys to fit all the luggage in Ben's trunk.
I've been up for four hours and we have not progressed in our journey. In all honesty, if we were supposed to get on the bus, we would have. It just wasn't meant to be.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Five more days!
I'm leaving this week.
I don't really know how to feel yet. I don't feel ready; I'm going to miss Vegas a whole lot. It's strange because I've left home for months at a time, but I've never felt that I would miss Vegas this much.
I think it's because I'm scared of change. I know I'm going to come back a changed person. Six weeks in a foreign country with people you don't really know changes you. Part of my fear of change is that Vegas is going to change without me. So much can happen in six weeks.
Either way, I know that going to Bosnia is going to be an AMAZING experience. I'm excited to meet new people and to see God working in Bosnia. I'm excited to experience something new.
The past four months since I've been accepted to be part of this project has been the most challenging, emotionally draining months that I have ever experienced. But I have been blessed in so many ways. I've had many answered prayers and amazing friends to help me through it all.
I have to accept that whether or not I feel ready, it's not up to me. I'm going to go into the next six and a half weeks with an open mind and heart.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to update my blog before I leave for Santa Barbara on Friday. I'll probably post an itinerary of what and where I will be.
As of now, I am 71% funded
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Three weeks left
I finally submitted my first set of checks.
I hit $2,000 =]
Everyone on our team hit $2000 which is a HUGE blessing.
I'm super happy.
Now we have to each raise an additional $2,000 within the next three weeks.
We did the Baja Fresh fundraiser today. It was alright. Every dollar counts, and that's how i'm going to look at it.
It was a great opportunity to let people that go to my church know what we're doing.
As of now, I am 53% funded
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
one month away
wow, that's kinda crazy!
I'm a bit scared. It seems really unreal that it's approaching so fast!
Our funding is doing pretty well.
I have over half of my funding COMMITTED. but i have less then that with me.
The other half will be pretty crazy but i have to trust that God will provide.
Our upcoming fundraisers:
1. Ping Pong tournament @ Grace Valley church on May 30
2. Concert @ New Community Church on June 1
2. Car Wash -still in the planning process so don't know when
3. Baja Fresh Fundraiser -still in the planning process
I received a little over $100 from the starbucks raffle tickets. Starbucks donated $50 so the sales of the raffle tickets doubled the donation =]
I still have a couple of people that I need to follow up with but my prayer is to hit $2600 by the end of this week.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
too blessed to be stressed!
WOW!
today was such an exciting day! we had a phone-a-thon =] sponsored by bosnia alumni, Layla and Mandy! i tried yummy bosnian coffee and snacks for the first time! super excited about Bosnia's obsession with coffee!! I'll fit right in =]
so pretty much we called everyone who we've sent out letters to and asked if they could commit to donate $100.
Just after two hours our team raised a total of $2360
Our team total: $6780
Average $ per person: $1356
We still need to raise $2000/person
I just think it's awesome how we were able to step out and be able to raise so much in so little time! =]
it's definitely encouraging and the power of prayer amazes me
I am currently 53% funded
Sunday, May 10, 2009
so many exciting things happening
I've received so much support from so many people. I am so grateful for all the people who have donated so far =]
I talked to Starbucks today, and they are making a basket of $50 in value and they are going to be selling raffle tickets. All the proceeds from the raffle tickets are going to support me to go to Bosnia. Raffle tickets are going to start at $2 and it's going to start being on sale from Tuesday, May 12 to Tuesday, May 19.
It's going to be at Starbucks on Charleston and Town Center next to Port of Subs and Tropical Smoothie.
Also, my article in the Crusader was sent home this weekend. My prayer is that people will read it and be able to support me.
Some prayer requests:
1. The raffle tickets will raise a sufficient amount of money
2. Alumni and parents will read the newsletter and be called to give
3. Praise and gratitude for all that I and my team have raised so far
As of now, I am 24% funded =]
Thursday, May 7, 2009
more pictures =]
The whole entire Bosnia team [ Sarejevo and Zenica ]
Team Zenica
All of STIM training: Fresno and Bosnia
My newsletter that is being sent out to my high school is going to be mailed sometime this week. I'm praying that I will get donors from that.
So as of today I'm at $760 which puts me at 19% funded.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Dobro Yutro, SUNSHINE.
That's good morning in Bosnian
This weekend I went to Santa Barbara for STIM training. It was amazing. I learned so much about social injustice, God's grace, and cross-cultural differences. We did a lot of stimulations that reminded me of leadership games I played in Student Council =]
I also got to meet my teammates that are also going to Zenica with me. There's a total of 6 people going to Zenica, one staff and five students. The staff and the other three students are from UCSB [University of California Santa Barbara] and then Scott and I from UNLV
I don't have the pictures of the whole Zenica team, but that's me and scott =]
I also learned a lot about my trip in general. I need to raise $2000 by May 26 which is in a month! We already have our air plane tickets confirmed but need to pay for them by then. I'll include more details as the trip gets closer.
After our weekend of learning and getting know each other, team Las Vegas became tourists! We went to a park with baby turtles and then went to the Beach.
Jumping for joy
Can you tell we're excited for this summer?
Overall, this weekend trip was a great experience. It got me even more pumped for my trip to Bosnia. =]
This weekend I went to Santa Barbara for STIM training. It was amazing. I learned so much about social injustice, God's grace, and cross-cultural differences. We did a lot of stimulations that reminded me of leadership games I played in Student Council =]
I also got to meet my teammates that are also going to Zenica with me. There's a total of 6 people going to Zenica, one staff and five students. The staff and the other three students are from UCSB [University of California Santa Barbara] and then Scott and I from UNLV
I don't have the pictures of the whole Zenica team, but that's me and scott =]I also learned a lot about my trip in general. I need to raise $2000 by May 26 which is in a month! We already have our air plane tickets confirmed but need to pay for them by then. I'll include more details as the trip gets closer.
After our weekend of learning and getting know each other, team Las Vegas became tourists! We went to a park with baby turtles and then went to the Beach.
Ben, Ryan, me, Carlos, Will, and Scott
Ryan isn't going to Bosnia but he's going to a Fresno Urban mission trip where he will spend 6 weeks in one of the poorest parts of the west coast. He came to the training with us.
Jumping for joy
Can you tell we're excited for this summer?Thursday, April 23, 2009
hardcore team bonding time
We are going to Santa Barbara this weekend for our training!
I'm really excited because I'm going to learn more about what I'm going to be doing there as well as get the needed information to be successful in Bosnia.
It's called STIM, student training in missions.
All five of us are going to fit in my small ICAR so it'll be a long 6 hour car ride there, but it'll be SO worth it. It's a good thing I've got shotgun! =]
Friday, April 17, 2009
a venti latte
I went to the starbucks I used to work at a couple of weeks ago. While I was talking to the Assistant Manager, I mentioned that I had to raise $4,000 for my trip to Bosnia.
He was telling me that he wanted to help out.
I went back this week to see if he was still interested and he mentioned that the company can probably give me some money since as a team we're raising $20,000.
I dropped off my letter on Wednesday. =] Hopefully Starbucks can pull through and help me out.
as of today, I am 15% funded to go to Bosnia
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A little bit more information
So I definitely left out a couple of details about my trip:
My trip to Bosnia will be from June 26 - Aug 4
Our team actually needs to raise a total of $20,000 to make this possible. I'm responsible for $4,000 of it.
I need to raise all the funds before June 25
Today, we're having a team meeting. We're going to start making copies of our letters and stuffing them in envelopes. Hopefully we'll send most of them out tonight.
I went to my high school last week for donations. I was able to collect $600
=] I think that a strong foundation in starting my fundraising.
As of today, I am 15% funded to go to Bosnia.
Monday, April 13, 2009
And the Journey Begins. . .
Hello friends,
Bosnia is in Eastern Europe, across from Italy near the coast of the Adriatic Sea
Here you can see where the two teams will be going: Sarajevo and Zenica
So hopefully you have ended up at my blog curious to why I am going to Bosnia.
Let's start at the beginning:
I was first introduced to Christianity in 6th grade at Faith Lutheran, a private christian school. During the seven years, I built a strong understanding and belief of the Gospel, Jesus, and the Bible. At UNLV I joined a college ministry organization where I was able to redefine my faith. InterVarsity has challenged me to grow in my identity as a Christian and has taught me how to live out God's will. Through this process, I was called to be part of the team going to Bosnia.
I will be spending six weeks during the summer in Bosnia, building relationships with the Bosnian students, teaching english and helping plant churches.
I will be going with 4 other UNLV students: Will, Carlos, Ben and Scott. I'm super excited to be going with them. Will, Carlos and Ben will be going to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Scott and I will be going to Zenica which is 40 miles north of Sarajevo.
There's a total for 15 students going to Bosnia. 10 to Sarajevo and 5 to Zenica
Now, you may be asking: Where is Bosnia?
Bosnia is in Eastern Europe, across from Italy near the coast of the Adriatic Sea
Here you can see where the two teams will be going: Sarajevo and Zenica
In order to make my trip possible I need to raise $4,000
Would you please consider giving towards this ministry to send my to Bosnia. Please giver and pray towards my goal as you are led.
Any amount of donation is helpful =]
If you are interested in helping me out, please let me know.
I will be using this blog as an update on how my fundraising is doing and will be using this during my trip.
thanks!
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